


The Third in White

by aireneria0, exohousewarming



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, post-college
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-12-31 13:40:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12133689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aireneria0/pseuds/aireneria0, https://archiveofourown.org/users/exohousewarming/pseuds/exohousewarming
Summary: Prompt number:112Side Pairings (if any):noneWarnings:noneSummary:What's better than a snowstorm, a misunderstanding, and a secret to make an anniversary even more special?





	The Third in White

**Author's Note:**

> **Author Note:** Please let the fuzzy xiuhan/lumin feels brighten your day!

Lu Lu, Skiptooma-lu  
Skiptooma-lu my baozi~

Prepared something for you on the table. Stuff up!

Minseok read of the scarlet ink on the white note stuck in between two yellow smiley magnets, the corners of his lips curled as he pulled the fridge door open and grabbed the milk carton. Too bad Luhan left early and didn't get to see his adored boyfriend chuckle heartily at the sight of the memo he wrote. Finding the gesture to be random and cute at the same time, Minseok grabbed a table napkin and the red Sharpee that was laid on the kitchen counter, which was probably what Luhan used for his note. Popping the cap open, Minseok scribbled right away and snapped a picture of it then hit send into Luhan's inbox. 

One, two, tickle my Lu  
Three, four, shut the door  
Five, six, nonstop tease  
Seven, eight, lay down straight  
Nine, ten, take me then

Not longer than two seconds, Minseok's phone buzzed and he tapped on the notification instantly.

"BABE. WHAT WAS THAT? God, I hope you're not trying to turn me on because I'd literally ditch my music sheets right now."

"Stupid. You wouldn't."

"Bet your sweet ass I would. It's been so long. ;) "

Minseok snorted at his phone. "Fine, you win. So try not to get fired in there and just come home early later so we could... ok?" 

"Aye, aye, sire. ;)"

Not wanting to cause further distraction for the younger male at work, Minseok set his phone on the kitchen aisle and did some quick stretching before he disappeared into the bathroom to change out of his green striped pyjamas. Fortunately, Minseok has the whole day free due to a school event that didn’t require his participation as a science professor loved by many students.

"Finally, a day to relax.."

For four exhausting months of stuffing and sealing one box after another as much as they could with the allotted time they planned for the move despite their respective work schedules, it took Minseok, yet again, by surprise at his boyfriend's thoughtful gesture for him. Closing in to three years, Luhan's surprises from the time they got together during university days would always bring amusement, and sometimes endearing embarrassment, to Minseok up until now that they've moved to a better place after graduation. Since setting up and adding the final touches to the new place finally finished last weekend, Luhan and Minseok both decided to celebrate by just the two of them first before inviting people over for a housewarming party some time soon. Besides, tonight’s celebration ought to be more special since they’ll be including their third anniversary into it as well.

More than anything else, his anticipation for their time together tonight is what makes Minseok sing that upbeat TV commercial song on loop during breakfast and after, whatever it is that they're going to do anyway because for a fact, it has been so long since they were able to spend time laid back. Even touching each other without one or both falling asleep over exhaustion in the middle of it or settling for quickies because of other necessary engagements were what happened mostly for the past months. Even if they decide for a lazy movie marathon or a frisky shower together after dinner, Minseok would likely do more than sing his joy out loud for it. Missing each other was natural, especially if your best friend slash lover had been attached with you by the hip for, like, forever. 

Just as soon as the sun had set at 5 PM, Minseok had finished with some light cleaning after coming back from a quick trip to the grocery to stock up the pantry and the fridge for later. Good thing some passing thoughts cued his memory about a blizzard warning from the radio recently so he thought it'd be best to prepare for in case the storm would be that bad as how the radio reporters said it would be. By the time he had finished every other quick chore on his to-do list memo, Minseok hopskipped his short legs into the kitchen to start whipping his and Luhan’s favourite dishes. Maybe some wine or beer would be good, too. And since Luhan would be back early, Minseok hastened just quite a bit so he could set the table up as well.

*  
“Looks good,” Minseok hummed to himself, the snapping sound of his smartphone shutter echoing through the neatly decorated space of their new apartment. He picked the shot he just took and sent it to Luhan with a caption of “can’t wait :)”

The older male anticipated his lover to be back at, maybe, 8 or 9PM, so by 7:45PM everything had been set up quite perfectly. Minseok slumped on the couch to rest for a while, Luhan must be home in just a few minutes so he turned the TV on to catch some news. A last glance was thrown by the Korean male at his phone screen to check if Luhan had texted of his whereabouts at this point but his notifications were the same, one email notification of some corporate acquaintance and another one of a strategy mobile game. None’s from Luhan so Minseok presumed he was rushing home and didn’t bother texting. Unintentionally dozing off, Minseok’s drowsy body slid down the couch as the news anchors went on about the other local news headlines.

*

A light buzz from his smartphone pulled Minseok’s consciousness from his nap. He wandered his slightly disoriented eyes around but no sign of Luhan was present. His eyes landed on the smartphone he had set on the glass surface of the center table in front so Minseok pressed unlock and checked that it was 12:45AM. His lids widened and worry instantly kicked in. Luhan hadn’t sent him any text nor did he call; absolutely nothing. So Minseok tapped for other social media apps to calm his nerves so he could swat the disturbing thoughts that started clouding out of fear that something bad had happened to Luhan. As he was scrolling through the first social media app he was checking, his eyes recognized the distinct doe-eyed male gleefully grinning on the picture with a caption on the post about a “rowdy and wild party”. Surprise spread across Minseok’s features. Luhan certainly didn’t mention anything about attending a party tonight of all days.

“Lu?” Minseok hit send. He waited for a few minutes but no new message came in.

“You didn’t tell me you were going to a party. Where are you now? Tell me when you’re heading home, ok?”

Whilst trying his best not to let irk run through full speed in his mind, it was hard to keep from nagging despite his placid nature. Minseok held his being older as reason to be more understanding and so he waited yet his lover hasn’t replied anything after a couple of minutes. Minseok stood from the couch and started cleaning up the table. His appetite had gone hours ago anyway so he stuffed the food into separate containers before shoving each neatly into the shelves of the fridge. Half an hour passed, still not one message and instead of idly wallowing around the house, Minseok decided to take a hot shower and turn to the bed. An hour later, still no reply at all until he heard the doorbell ring and disturbed the silence in the place, Minseok lethargically got up and went to get the door.

“Lovely Baoziii~” Luhan greeted with a silly grin on his face as he walked past the doorframe, dragging his body down the couch the next second, the smell of alcohol wafting across the room as the younger male moved past Minseok as well.

Minseok could barely hold his tongue in but the idea of even trying to talk some sense into Luhan’s relatively rational state allowed for him to walk it off and let his boyfriend deal with himself. It was enough disappointment that he was stood up without any kind of explanation yet for something he had looked forward to so much. If Luhan wanted to talk, he’d have to be at a better state than he was at the moment.  
*  
Before the 8AM alarm rang, Minseok felt the harsh biting cold that woke him from his sleep. Clutching at the thick duvet to cover himself more under the fabric, Minseok glances at the windows and sees the dull grunge from behind the beige curtains. It gradually dawned on him that the blizzard was supposed to occur around earlier this morning. A sudden rush fuelled Minseok to rise from the bed and check Luhan since he had let him tend to himself last night. The lingering irritation was strongly present but worry outweighs any other emotion in Minseok the most.

Out into the living room Minseok dashed but saw no sign of the younger male but his black work bag from last night so he proceeded to check another room. Right upon stepping in the kitchen, Luhan turned around holding a mug in one hand, an apologetic smile slowly forming on his features.

“Hey,” Luhan started.

“You’re up early.” Minseok subtly exhaled his relief, the agitation now taking over. “Weren’t you so out of last night?”

Luhan averted his gaze down to the cup he was now clutching with both his hands. “Er… about that, can we talk?”

“Try later.” Minseok stepped towards the fridge and took his time thinking of what he was going to take for breakfast. He had to heat it fast because the temperature was creeping into his nerves.  
By that, Luhan knew he was in trouble. The apparent cold shoulder meant he had a lot to clear so as to appease his sulky boyfriend, after all he knew that he was in the wrong.

“Take a seat. I made breakfast earlier. I’ll bring it over right away.”

The older male flatly hummed in response as he headed to the bathroom to refresh and change out into thicker clothes as Luhan prepares the table. When he came back, the dishes Minseok cooked last night were laid out in portions. Minseok stays silent on his seat as he digs into the food in front of him. Then Luhan soon settles himself on the opposite chair. The younger was eager to start just as soon but it’d be best to let Minseok finish eating first. And so he puts what he has to say off and poured himself another fill of hot cocoa.

“So,” Minseok broke into the silence, wiping the tiny bits caught in his lips off with a piece of table napkin. “Are we going to talk or what?”

Luhan finished his cocoa and sat his mug on the table. “Minseok, listen. I’m extremely regretful over what happened last night. I swear I wanted to get home as fast as possible last night but my colleagues pulled me over to a bar for one of my bosses’ impromptu retirement party and-”

“And what, you went and didn’t tell me a single thing about it? I was fucking worried you weren’t answering my texts then.”

Seeing his boyfriend’s feline-like features contort into an agitated frown, Luhan immediately tried to follow up. “That’s ‘cause-” he paused abruptly. “Well, I was going to reply but, something urgent came up so..”

“What the hell, Lu? I texted you at different times so you could’ve at least just answered ANY of them..? And what was so urgent that you couldn’t even bother telling me what it was? I’ve literally no idea what happened to you until you showed up at the door in the middle of the night looking like you were about to pass out from booze.”

“That was… ok look, the urgent thing came up after work then stuff happened and I met my colleagues near there and got pulled with them. That’s why I’m so sorry that I made you worry, Minseok. I’d never want to make you feel that way or worse.”

The older male huffed exasperatedly. “Then what was that ‘urgent’ thing you did yesterday? Work?”

“Uhh.. something else.” Luhan quickly averted his gaze sideways. “But! I’ll tell you later, promise.”

Minseok has his brows contracted in the middle. “Why, what makes it different from telling me now?”

“Just, I… because…” Luhan trailed off. “Please, just trust me. I’ll definitely tell you later.”

The apology Minseok had accepted already, considering it was sincere in his opinion, but the fact that his lover was keeping something from him bugs him more now yet the older male was getting tired at the mere thought of prolonging his being clueless that makes him even more anxious. “Lu, you can just tell me, you know? I would understand so please just say it so we will be over all this.”

“No, babe. I already promised I’ll be telling you soon, didn’t I?”

As much as Minseok hated feeling this deprived of some peace of mind, he hated it even more when Luhan doesn’t say things out as frequent as he does with his other thoughts. Between the two of them, Luhan has got to be the one who’s more vocal about almost anything so it doesn’t help that Minseok has grown used to this old habit. “Fine, just tell me what it’s all about and I’ll stop.”  
Minseok waits for the other male to say something but Luhan just blinked at him, eyes subtly grew wider than usual. “That… will have to wait as well.”

Clicking his tongue, Minseok was at the end of his rope. A pang in his chest grows stronger just as soon as he stormed off out of Luhan’s presence. He only realized that his legs brought him into their bedroom when he rubbed his eyes and all that was in his mind was to take his time alone to clear his thoughts if Luhan wasn’t going to help in doing so. Minseok opened the closet and changed into random clothes before putting over a black long coat, a plaid scarf, and a grey beanie. The dressed male strode past into the front door and just as when he grabbed the knob an arm extended past his shoulder and slammed the door before Minseok could even swing it open.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

“I’ll just clear my head, Luhan.” said the older without turning his head to meet his lover’s face behind him. “Get your arm out of the way.”

“Are you out of your mind, Minseok? There’s a blizzard out there!”

Turning on his heel in one quick motion, the shorter male impatiently rolls his eyes at the younger’s face. “So what?”

Disbelief instantly washed over Luhan’s youthful features. Luhan dipped his head lower and closer to Minseok’s face and the latter gets a clearer look at the taller male’s flushed features as his face softened into an anxious frown. “Please, Baozi. Don’t do this.”

Now that he had given it a second thought, Minseok absolutely doesn’t want to freeze outside. But before he could say anything, Luhan dropped his head onto Minseok’s shoulder while his other hand was clasped by the younger’s chilly fingers.

“Please, Minseok…stay.” lowly mumbled by the taller male, his voice breaking and his body suddenly slumping downwards and Minseok couldn’t be more thankful for his good reflexes that he was able to support Luhan’s weight up. The older could feel the heat emanating from beneath light layers of clothes on his lover and that was when the realization hit him. Luhan was burning up.

Minseok rushed to support Luhan’s unconscious body into the bedroom and laid him tucked underneath the covers. Shimmying his body out of the heavy clothes first, Minseok’s chest gradually filled with another kind of pounding as he rushed to grab the box of face mask, get the thermometer, and take out several blankets from the cabinet all in one go. Minseok re-entered the bedroom and immediately spread the blankets over Luhan’s passed out figure then adjusted the thermostat’s temperature to make the room warmer then carefully put a face mask on the younger male. As his mind was busy wondering what prompted for Luhan to end up like that, Minseok takes his sick lover’s temperature. A couple of seconds passed and it beeped, revealing 39°C to all the more worry the older male.

For the next succeeding hours, Minseok had everything he needed to tend Luhan gathered at a close distance. He had applied warm sponge bath and made Luhan take cold medicine in between his resting period so as to alleviate his fever. Moreover, it was bad enough that the snowstorm was causing much worry from everyone else in town but that Luhan just had to get sick now and somehow, it surprised Minseok himself how he was faring with how the events turned out. His top priority right now was to make sure his lover recovers and everything else will have to be settled later. He didn’t even bother to peek through the window since not a single thing outside could differ in color other than white anyway. So now, all Minseok could do was wait and check for the younger male’s state and hope his fever doesn’t get worse. And so he sat by the bed, resting his head and arms on the sheets close to Luhan’s burrito-like figure.

*

Rousing Minseok from a nap that he didn’t expect he’d fall into was the creeping cold on his nerves that he was sure he countered with adjusting the thermostat earlier. Yet when he roamed his sight, the lights in the room were out and the temperature had dropped a few degrees.

“No way…” dread laced Minseok’s voice at the guess that maybe it was a power outage in the building. That had to be the worst thing that could ever happen at a time like this. Minseok gently swishes the duvet covering the lower half of his boyfriend’s small face and pats his palm on his cheek which felt warm but when he saw Luhan’s fingers shivering as he was clutching the heavy fabric close to his chest, he groaned in panic. He was more worried over Luhan freezing than himself ending up in the same state. So the best that he could think of was to join Luhan in bed and keep him close so as to sustain his body temperature with Minseok’s warmth for the meantime. God, he hopes the building’s generator system would miraculously kick back the power that they badly need.

The older male slid himself into the covers and shifted himself closer to Luhan by removing the duvet between them. He gently closed in on the space and gently placed Luhan’s arms on his torso so as to keep him in place while Minseok wrapped an arm around the curve of the younger’s neck and pulled him closer to snuggle. Minseok’s thoughts echoed for wishes for everything to turn out better because he’s not exactly sure that what he’d do if the situation gets worse. He tries hard to keep himself awake as he feels Luhan claim his warmth with the younger’s hands roaming on Minseok’s torso unconsciously, burying his small face into the older’s chest and settles at that. Shifting his legs to overlap with Luhan’s, Minseok hopes for everything nice as the pleasant warm gradually makes him feel fuzzy in and out, even in the least, his anxious thoughts were being kept at bay. Then just before his eyelids flutter close, Minseok caught sight of the blinking of soft lights on the ceiling and he was out the next second.

*

Luhan snuggles rather comfortably into the fluffy sheets yet when he opens his eyes, an unguardedly gentle face was the first thing his eyes landed upon. He was feeling a lot better than he did earlier so he tries squirming out of the covers but realizes that Minseok’s slender arms were wrapped around him as well. The strings of the face mask tugging on the back of his ears were starting to ache a bit so he took it off and tossed it right at the mini trashcan by his side of the bed. Luhan sighed fondly at the sleeping male and sat up beside him, adjusting Minseok’s arms on his waist instead. He fishes his phone out of his shorts pocket and checks whether he has new notifications. A new mail from Yixing, his colleague and college best friend, popped up.

“Hey, did you get home safely after the party? The storm’s pretty bad so I just wanted to check. Minseok texted me last night, asking the same thing as well. –Y”

Luhan tapped fast. “Yeah, I was home around 12AM, thanks. Oh, did you tell him about it?”

Surprisingly for his friend who usually takes forever to reply, Yixing answered back. “Nope. Didn’t wanna spoil it for you guys. Haha.”

Smiling sunconsciously, Luhan opts to reply one last time as the dizziness was lingering still. “Thanks a bunch, Xing. Caught a fever, probably last night(?), since I wasn’t wearing my coat on the way back home..(don’t actually know where I lost it.. But I’ll rest more for a while. Then, later!”

His phone vibrated once again and he tapped the mail icon open.

“Oh? You stuffed your coat in my backpack because you said you were brave enough to fight the cold and was spouting nonsense after several drinks. Yeah, congratulations with the fever, genius.”

Snorting at his friend’s last message, Luhan pressed the home button and saw the digital widget indicating 9:45PM. The temperature feels very warm so he shuffles on to his feet to the room thermostat and adjusted it a bit cooler. Curious over whether the blizzard had eased up, Luhan goes to the windows and pushed aside the thick curtain and was taken aback by the monochromatic whiteness midst the dim night view of the suburban road from the third floor sans the visible strong winds from this morning. Before anything else, Luhan steps out of the bedroom and goes to find his work bag from the living room. It sat there beside the couch and Luhan picked it up and fumbled inside it only to pull a small box with a white velvet surface all over. He surveyed the box one last time before smiling then pushed it into one of his pockets without further ado. Then he laid the bag down to where it was before and headed back to the room. Luhan crawled back to bed and reclaimed his space beside Minseok prior to waking up and dozed off once again, still enveloped in the arms of his fair baozi.

*

The bedside alarm went off, stirring both males up from their slumber. Minseok blinks his eyes open slowly through his softly dishevelled black fringes and was surprised when his lover’s orbs were the first to have held his gaze. A radiant smile forms on Luhan’s dazed, half-asleep features, his deep flush now gone with only a pinkish dust left on his cheeks. More relieved than he could say outright, Minseok pulled Luhan closer and placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

“Feeling better now?” Minseok’s voice came out a bit raspy.

“Yeah, thanks.” Luhan snuggled closer, tangling his legs over the older’s so as to subtly lock him there, but nonetheless to cuddle even more. He pulls Minseok’s arm that was draped over his side and took the older male’s palm then entwined their fingers together. Minseok slowly follows with his eyes the delicate things Luhan was doing with his hand until the younger placed his lips on Minseok’s fourth finger. “Uh, about yesterday..”

The older blinks his eyes shut. “You know, I’m sorry. I get it, I should have understood if you didn’t want to t-”

“No, no. Right now, I need you to listen, okay?” Luhan gives a small reassuring smile to his anticipating lover who then relaxes and nods for him to continue. “So, today marks our third anniversary.”

If Luhan hadn’t mentioned it, Minseok wouldn’t likely remember it due to excessive worrying from last night. “Oh, you’re right.”

“And I don’t know how much of an idiot I was but upsetting you wasn’t what I’d planned and never would I want you to bear anxious thoughts yet I did again. I got sick and worried you like that…I’m truly sorry, Minseok.”

“Lu, that’s enough. What’s done is done but that’s okay with me. Just as long as you don’t let it happen again.”

The younger brushed his lips on the smooth skin of the back of Minseok’s hand. “Yeah, I won’t.”

“So, we’re clear?”

“Just one last thing left.” Luhan free his other hand to dig into his pocket.

Minseok’s brows raised. “What is it?”

Luhan held the thing in his hand and boosted himself up with his elbow, pushing aside two layers of heavy comforter from his body. “Come on, sit up.” His brown locks softly tousled as he urged the older male to do the same, an ear to ear grin on his lips.

“Why, just what is it?” Minseok’s hair swayed smoothly as he followed suit. Just as when he and his boyfriend were face to face, Luhan thrusted a white box with sharp edges in front of him in one hand. “What’s this?”

“Open it.”

Minseok did as he was told and took the box from Luhan’s palm. He rotated the thing before touching the line that probably opens the box in half. Minseok didn’t want to admit that he was anticipating or anything so when he pushed the upper lid up with his thumb, genuine surprise overwhelmed the older male. Sitting in the middle, overlapping together were two rings of different colors but similar in design. One was gold and the other was not exactly silver. Without taking either of the rings, Minseok brought it closer to further his amazement at the beautiful rings. They were bands with an engraved snowflake apiece in the middle, a shiny dot of diamond in the centers of the snowflakes. From both ends of the snowflake following the band lie seven bits of diamonds on each side, arranged biggest from the center to the smallest on the farthest end. Luhan snatched the box and laughed.

“You can look at this all day but first,” Luhan took Minseok’s hand. It was warm against his and Luhan was never more certain than that moment that he’d never let go of the hand of the man he loves. “Will you stay with me, Minseok?”

A grin spread across Minseok’s lips as if it was the most natural thing it could do while he stared at Luhan with a teasing brow. “I’ve never seen you so serious before.”

Luhan snorted at his chuckling boyfriend. “Stop stalling, Baozi. Answer please.”

“Man, you’re just as impatient as me. Okay, yes. Yes!”

Luhan took the not-gold one and tilted it in front of the other male just so he could see the underside of the band where an engraved “799” lies on its own space. The younger slid it on Minseok’s fourth finger as they both laughed while at it. “White gold for the most important snowflake in my life.”

“Oh! I thought it was silver,” Minseok drew his hand closer to his in amusement. “Give me that. I’ll put yours on.” And he snatched the box and pulled the gold one. After scanning the ring, Minseok figured it was exactly the same as the one on his hand except for the color. He then took Luhan slender hands and kissed it before sliding the ring on its place. “But Lu, you didn’t have to get these. We just got this new apartment and you said you were saving for something, weren’t you?”

“For the record, that was the ‘urgent’ thing I told you yesterday morning. I asked Yixing for a favor to go ahead to the jewelry store to check if the rings were done and he texted me right away. So by the time I got off work I rushed to where he was and claimed it to surprise you last night but, yeah, we ran into some colleagues and the rest was what I told you yesterday. Sorry they were pushy and I wasn’t able to turn them down.”

“Ah, I see.” Minseok felt like he overreacted last night and takes the lesson to heart to be more patient. “Then what about the thing you were saving up for?”

Luhan placed his hand over the other male’s fair cheek. “Those were the rings.”

The cheek where Luhan has his hand felt warmer and Minseok couldn’t help but burst in hearty chuckles again as a warm sensation spread across his chest. “Well, happy anniversary, Lu.” Minseok pecked a soft kiss on his boyfriend’s unsuspecting lips before pulling away with a wink then disappeared out the door. “Come now, we haven’t eaten since breakfast yesterday.”  
Luhan smiled at his hand where the little stones glint nonstop and then followed Minseok out of the room. “Yeah, I’m starving.”

Past the kitchen doorframe, Luhan caugt sight of Minseok’s short figure standing by the open fridge. When the fridge door closed, Luhan caught Minseok’s small wrist and pulled him in for another, deeper kiss. “Happy anniversary, Minseok.”

“If you don’t let me go, we’ll starve even more.” An unconvincing coy smile from the older male was thrown intended to make Luhan’s resolve, if he had any, waver.

“I think you didn’t seem to get me at all when I said I was starving.” The younger pulled Minseok closer into a breath’s distance and removed whatever container the older was holding in his hands then set them on the kitchen counter beside. “It’s you who I’m starving for.”

Minseok laughed and Luhan echoed his laugh with his own genuine ones. “Whichever comes first, Lu. We have the whole day anyway.”


End file.
